Thread: U.S. Border Patrol agent arrested for smuggling drugs

U.S. Border Patrol agent arrested for smuggling drugs.

By: Stephanie Sanchez

Yuma, AZ-A U.S. Border Patrol agent is currently in custody at the Yuma County Jail for allegedly smuggling bundles of marijuana.

"The minute that this agent decided that he wanted to smuggle narcotics he lost his Border Patrol name and these agents kept out name," Kenneth Quillin, U.S. Border Patrol spokesman for the Yuma Sector said.

The incident happened Monday afternoon in the Yuma Sector East area.

Two other Border Patrol agents were patrolling the area at the time. When they encountered the suspect, they noticed the suspect was carrying numerous bundles of pot inside a marked Border Patrol vehicle.

"Fortunately we haven't had this type of incident in the Yuma Sector where agents been arrested on duty and utilizing his border patrol vehicle," Quillin said. "So it goes to showing you the type of integrity and professionalism the agents have here in Yuma."Â

Details emerge in BP agent drug case
April 07, 2011 9:19 AM
BY SARAH WOMER - SUN STAFF WRITER

Details are emerging in the case of Michael Atondo, the Yuma Sector Border Patrol agent arrested this week with marijuana in his patrol vehicle.

According to the criminal complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, two agents responding to an activated sensor found Atondo at the border fence. Alerted by his unusual actions, the agents eventually asked to search Atondo’s vehicle, where they discovered bundles of marijuana.

Atondo is facing a federal charge of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He made his initial appearance at the U.S. federal courthouse in Yuma on Wednesday.

Atondo was arrested Monday by Drug Enforcement Agency agents after 745.6 pounds of marijuana were discovered in his marked Border Patrol truck. According to the criminal complaint, the arrest happened along the Mexico-U.S. border, about 30-40 miles east of the U.S. Port of Entry at San Luis, Ariz.

As the two Border Patrol agents approached the area, they found a Border Patrol vehicle backed up against the eastern edge of the fence that marks the border between the U.S. and Mexico. The vehicle’s rear door was open.

According to the complaint, at the end of the border fence is an open area, large enough for an individual to walk back and forth between the two countries.

One of the agents thought it was unusual that the unit had not responded to the activated sensor, since it was closer to the area.

As the two agents approached, they found two Jeep Cherokees parked in Mexico, and a person running west from the two vehicles, which were also backed up to the point where the border fence ends.

Atondo at this point emerged from the parked Border Patrol vehicle with his service weapon drawn and pointed at the individual who was running away. Two other people in Mexico then jumped into the Cherokees and drove them southbound, farther into Mexico, the complaint states.

Atondo told the two agents that two more people had run eastward, toward a hill, and jumped in his vehicle to pursue them. However, the two agents had a clear view of the area, and did not see two people.

The agents followed Atondo and asked if something was wrong, the complaint states. They noted that Atondo seemed very nervous, and neither agent could understand what Atondo was trying to verbally communicate with them. However, according to the complaint, one agent managed to understand that Atondo claimed to be searching for a flashlight he had lost the previous day.

One of the agents asked if Atondo had called for any backup, to which Atondo said he had been unable to initiate contact on his radio.

One of the agents noticed that Atondo’s nametape was missing from his uniform, which the agent thought was unusual as he had noticed Atondo was wearing it that morning.

The two agents continued to follow Atondo due to his unusual actions, and then one of the agents contacted a supervisor for assistance.

One of the agents confronted Atondo and asked for permission to search his vehicle. At that point, the agent found orderly stacks of marijuana in the back of Atondo’s vehicle.

Atondo began to pace nervously back and forth, then retrieved his body armor and put it on, according to the complaint.

When the supervisory agent arrived, Atondo stated he was looking for a flashlight he had lost three days earlier, which was inconsistent with his previous statement to the two agents, the complaint said.

The supervisory agent also noted there were inconsistencies with the footsteps at the scene. He also noted it was strange that the suspected smugglers or illegal aliens described by Atondo were not frightened or startled by Atondo’s presence, and did not flee until the second Border Patrol vehicle arrived.

According to the complaint, Atondo had made repeated requests to be assigned to the area known as “The Line,â€

FoxNews Video

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4631109/bord ... t_id=86856

Judge orders release of Border Patrol agent in drug case
April 11, 2011 3:56 PM
BY JAMES GILBERT - SUN STAFF WRITER

A federal judge has agreed to release on his own recognizance the Yuma Sector Border Patrol agent who was arrested earlier this month after marijuana was found in his patrol vehicle.

After a lengthy hearing Monday morning, U.S. Magistrate Jay Irwin released Michael Atondo from custody until his trial, provided he abide by the standard conditions of release, such as refraining from possessing a firearm, not leaving the state, surrendering his travel documents, not consuming alcohol or unauthorized narcotics and not violating any federal state or local laws.

“I don't think the defendant is going to run. If he does it, will be the most foolish thing he could do, other than the crime he has been accused of,â€

In addition to having a brother who is currently incarcerated on drug-related charges and has ties to the Mexican Mafia, Uhl said Atondo appears to have been a mole who infiltrated the Border Patrol with the intent to smuggle drugs.

How this guy could be released on OR is simply stunning. My guess is he will be gone to mexico as soon as he's released.

Yuma Border Patrol agent indicted in marijuana trafficking
April 12, 2011 6:56 PM
BY JAMES GILBERT - SUN STAFF WRITER

A federal grand jury on Tuesday returned a four-count indictment against U.S. Border Patrol agent Michael Angelo Atondo of Somerton for allegedly importing and possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute.

Atondo was arrested while on duty April 4 when fellow Border Patrol agents discovered him in a remote area on the Mexican border near San Luis, several miles outside of his Wellton-area patrol zone, with 44 packaged bundles of marijuana in his marked patrol vehicle.

U.S. Magistrate Jay Irwin released Atondo from custody on Monday on his own recognizance until his trial, after a condition of release hearing held in federal court in Yuma. During that hearing, the courtroom was packed by family and friends, as well as a large group of agents who were there to show their support for Atondo's prosecution.

Court records allege that Atondo was supposed to be on duty near Wellton, along Interstate 8 when he allegedly set off a sensor in another patrol zone, several miles away in a remote area along the Mexican border east of San Luis.

Other Border Patrol agents responded to the area and found Atondo, who was in uniform, although his name plate was not affixed to his shirt, and in a marked Border Patrol service vehicle that was backed up to the border fence.

The agents also observed two Jeep Cherokees parked on the Mexican side of the border, also backed up to the fence, with Atondo allegedly standing outside his vehicle nearby.

According to court records, the suspects fled south into Mexico as the other agents approached. A search of Atondo's vehicle found 44 neatly stacked packages of marijuana in the rear compartment used for transporting illegal aliens. The bundles weighed approximately 745 pounds and had an estimated wholesale value of $371,000.

Atondo faces charges of conspiracy to commit importation of marijuana, importation of marijuana, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

A conviction for each of these counts carries a minimum penalty of five years and maximum of 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $2 million and at least four years of supervised release.

In determining an actual sentence, the assigned District Court judge will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.

An indictment is simply the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

http://www.yumasun.com/news/http/11200o ... order.html